Decentralized ActivityPub May Be the Way forward for Social Networks | by Laszlo Fazekas | Oct, 2023

ActivityPub is an open, distributed social community protocol standardized by the World Wide Web Consortium. Its first model was launched in 2018, so it’s not new. It is utilized by a number of social networks, together with Mastodon, which has lately seen a major improve in reputation when Elon Musk purchased Twitter and made adjustments that didn’t please many.

In addition, Tumblr and Facebook’s different to Twitter, Threads, have additionally signaled that they’ll help the protocol sooner or later. Despite not being a brand new protocol, ActivityPub is now changing into more and more in style.

As the European Union and the United States have lengthy been involved concerning the market monopoly of huge social networks, I can think about that sooner or later, underneath authorities strain, the present largest social networks, comparable to Facebook and Twitter, may even help the protocol and develop into a part of the Fediverse. (The Fediverse is a universe of social networks with suppliers supporting ActivityPub.)

I imagine that sooner or later, we won’t select Twitter or Facebook as a result of they are going to be closed, and we may have no different selection. The power of every platform will come from who has higher synthetic intelligence to filter the incoming large quantity of information to sift by way of, choose, and summarize a very powerful info for the customers. Of course, to do that, one should know the consumer very nicely, which can also be within the consumer’s curiosity.

In return, synthetic intelligence can present way more related commercials. In an open, accessible system, the competitors will not be amongst social networks however amongst synthetic intelligence-based algorithms.

ActivityPub is a comparatively easy commonplace that’s simple to grasp and implement. Its solely weak spot is that it makes use of the HTTP protocol, which requires a central server. This gave rise to different protocols comparable to Nostr, Jack Dorsey’s (the founding father of Twitter) favourite challenge.

However, there is no such thing as a want for this, and it solely causes additional fragmentation of social networks. Instead, the ActivityPub protocol needs to be prolonged with help for current decentralized protocols, permitting the Fediverse to develop in direction of an much more open and decentralized route. In the next, I’ll display how this may be achieved.

But earlier than this, let’s see how ActivityPub works. The primary performance is properly summarized by this quite simple diagram:

The protocol has two essential parts: the inbox and the outbox. These are two API endpoints that may be accessed by way of the HTTP protocol. When customers need to talk one thing with the skin world (e.g., submit some content material), they ship it to the outbox. The system provides it to an applicable listing, which followers can entry by studying the outbox.

If somebody from the skin world needs to ship one thing to the consumer (e.g., a personal submit that may solely be seen by sure customers), they ship it to the inbox in encrypted kind. The inbox is like an e mail inbox, the place incoming content material is collected and the place the consumer can entry it.

One can retrieve the placement of the inbox and outbox utilizing the WebFinger protocol. This will also be examined with the assistance of the ActivityPub Explorer, a brilliant device for experimenting with and understanding the protocol.

A username in ActivityPub is just like an e mail handle. For instance, my Mastodon username is @[email protected]. This implies that my consumer info is saved on the dm.me server underneath the identify thebojda.

When entered into ActivityPub Explorer, it can question the next URL based on the WebFinger protocol to retrieve the info:

https://me.dm/.well-known/webfinger?useful resource=acct:thebojdapercent40me.dm

The response is a JSON object that appears like this:

{
"topic":"acct:[email protected]",
"aliases":[
"https://me.dm/@thebojda",
"https://me.dm/users/thebojda"
],
"hyperlinks":[
{
"rel":"http://webfinger.net/rel/profile-page",
"type":"text/html",
"href":"https://me.dm/@thebojda"
},
{
"rel":"self",
"type":"application/activity+json",
"href":"https://me.dm/users/thebojda"
},
{
"rel":"http://ostatus.org/schema/1.0/subscribe",
"template":"https://me.dm/authorize_interaction?uri={uri}"
}
]
}

It could be decided from right here that the ActivityPub info shall be accessible on the https://me.dm/customers/thebojda URL. If we enter this into the ActivityPub Explorer, it can return the next JSON:

{
"@context": [
"https://www.w3.org/ns/activitystreams",
"https://w3id.org/security/v1",
{
"manuallyApprovesFollowers": "as:manuallyApprovesFollowers",
"toot": "http://joinmastodon.org/ns#",
"featured": {
"@id": "toot:featured",
"@type": "@id"
},
"featuredTags": {
"@id": "toot:featuredTags",
"@type": "@id"
},
"alsoKnownAs": {
"@id": "as:alsoKnownAs",
"@type": "@id"
},
"movedTo": {
"@id": "as:movedTo",
"@type": "@id"
},
"schema": "http://schema.org#",
"PropertyValue": "schema:PropertyValue",
"value": "schema:value",
"discoverable": "toot:discoverable",
"Device": "toot:Device",
"Ed25519Signature": "toot:Ed25519Signature",
"Ed25519Key": "toot:Ed25519Key",
"Curve25519Key": "toot:Curve25519Key",
"EncryptedMessage": "toot:EncryptedMessage",
"publicKeyBase64": "toot:publicKeyBase64",
"deviceId": "toot:deviceId",
"claim": {
"@type": "@id",
"@id": "toot:claim"
},
"fingerprintKey": {
"@type": "@id",
"@id": "toot:fingerprintKey"
},
"identityKey": {
"@type": "@id",
"@id": "toot:identityKey"
},
"devices": {
"@type": "@id",
"@id": "toot:devices"
},
"messageFranking": "toot:messageFranking",
"messageType": "toot:messageType",
"cipherText": "toot:cipherText",
"suspended": "toot:suspended",
"focalPoint": {
"@container": "@list",
"@id": "toot:focalPoint"
}
}
],
"id": "https://me.dm/customers/thebojda",
"kind": "Person",
"following": "https://me.dm/customers/thebojda/following",
"followers": "https://me.dm/customers/thebojda/followers",
"inbox": "https://me.dm/customers/thebojda/inbox",
"outbox": "https://me.dm/customers/thebojda/outbox",
"featured": "https://me.dm/customers/thebojda/collections/featured",
"featuredTags": "https://me.dm/customers/thebojda/collections/tags",
"preferredUsername": "thebojda",
"identify": "Laszlo Fazekas",
"abstract": "<p>Software developer, contributing author</p>",
"url": "https://me.dm/@thebojda",
"manuallyApprovesFollowers": false,
"discoverable": false,
"revealed": "2023-03-02T00:00:00Z",
"units": "https://me.dm/customers/thebojda/collections/units",
"publicKey": {
"id": "https://me.dm/customers/thebojda#main-key",
"proprietor": "https://me.dm/customers/thebojda",
"publicKeyPem": "-----BEGIN PUBLIC KEY----- MIIBIjANBgkqhkiG9w0BAQEFAAOCAQ8AMIIBCgKCAQEAxlvpgcOxBikiXfm9snZt EB3Y2BSnBW3s8nd1d4Z1wCzaNfa/woB6RDQJoQYEISbMpkEyWhDzI4jRDafpn5/j YiyyGka9U2KZHv1to0Ej9uVwUcQOnsq9iUtJGhOWCP27blKGTLKFEHtPL2Y4hp4Z kYzlh1x0aAyw8YC7/nbS8WDAeZNS7R3ET7Syhp3LKiCMmL1aCLSoOQJ5DdxVikMJ rJ9bzlUjxzCsm1aNBB0i269t4fD1evBO8QDhEAOnAZ6wLEV74j9SCjYMvKRV8z5i PQbhbKntXjn1XhbkIkj1D+yGRYYfnm1XyWTuaM4mDllvuOyqJ8GQVFADLc6KCQYz 7QIDAQAB -----END PUBLIC KEY----- "
},
"tag": [],
"endpoints": {
"sharedInfield": "https://me.dm/inbox"
},
"icon": {
"kind": "Image",
"mediaType": "picture/jpeg",
"url": "https://media.me.dm/accounts/avatars/109/955/144/019/799/820/authentic/fe8e930e0f1467ac.jpeg"
}
}

Here, you could find all of the user-specific details about me, however what’s most essential listed here are the URLs of the inbox and outbox endpoints and the general public key for encrypting messages despatched to me. When querying the content material of the outbox, the next JSON is returned:

{
"@context": "https://www.w3.org/ns/activitystreams",
"id": "https://me.dm/customers/thebojda/outbox",
"kind": "OrderedCollection",
"completeItems": 1,
"first": "https://me.dm/customers/thebojda/outbox?web page=true",
"final": "https://me.dm/customers/thebojda/outbox?min_id=0&web page=true"
}

As the posts are divided into pages, right here we will see the URLs of the primary and final pages. By accessing the URL of the primary web page, we will view my entries, of which there’s presently just one.

{
"@context": [
"https://www.w3.org/ns/activitystreams",
{
"ostatus": "http://ostatus.org#",
"atomUri": "ostatus:atomUri",
"inReplyToAtomUri": "ostatus:inReplyToAtomUri",
"conversation": "ostatus:conversation",
"sensitive": "as:sensitive",
"toot": "http://joinmastodon.org/ns#",
"votersCount": "toot:votersCount"
}
],
"id": "https://me.dm/customers/thebojda/outbox?web page=true",
"kind": "OrderedCollectionWeb page",
"prev": "https://me.dm/customers/thebojda/outbox?min_id=109955178005562038&web page=true",
"halfOf": "https://me.dm/customers/thebojda/outbox",
"orderedItems": [
{
"id": "https://me.dm/users/thebojda/statuses/109955178005562038/activity",
"type": "Create",
"actor": "https://me.dm/users/thebojda",
"published": "2023-03-02T18:47:47Z",
"to": [
"https://www.w3.org/ns/activitystreams#Public"
],
"cc": [
"https://me.dm/users/thebojda/followers"
],
"object": {
"id": "https://me.dm/customers/thebojda/statuses/109955178005562038",
"kind": "Note",
"abstract": null,
"inReplyTo": null,
"revealed": "2023-03-02T18:47:47Z",
"url": "https://me.dm/@thebojda/109955178005562038",
"attributedTo": "https://me.dm/customers/thebojda",
"to": [
"https://www.w3.org/ns/activitystreams#Public"
],
"cc": [
"https://me.dm/users/thebojda/followers"
],
"delicate": false,
"atomUri": "https://me.dm/customers/thebojda/statuses/109955178005562038",
"inReplyToAtomUri": null,
"dialog": "tag:me.dm,2023-03-02:objectId=1406005:objectType=Conversation",
"content material": "<p>My &quot;ars poetica&quot;: How to Change the World?! Pocket Guide for People With a Messiah Complex <a href="https://medium.com/geekculture/how-to-change-the-world-pocket-guide-for-people-with-a-messiah-complex-dd2d16bb92a" goal="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">medium.com/geekculture/how-to-</span><span class="invisible">change-the-world-pocket-guide-for-people-with-a-messiah-complex-dd2d16bb92a</span></a></p>",
"contentMap": {
"en": "<p>My &quot;ars poetica&quot;: How to Change the World?! Pocket Guide for People With a Messiah Complex <a href="https://medium.com/geekculture/how-to-change-the-world-pocket-guide-for-people-with-a-messiah-complex-dd2d16bb92a" goal="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">medium.com/geekculture/how-to-</span><span class="invisible">change-the-world-pocket-guide-for-people-with-a-messiah-complex-dd2d16bb92a</span></a></p>"
},
"attachment": [],
"tag": [],
"replies": {
"id": "https://me.dm/customers/thebojda/statuses/109955178005562038/replies",
"kind": "Collection",
"first": {
"kind": "CollectionWeb page",
"subsequent": "https://me.dm/customers/thebojda/statuses/109955178005562038/replies?only_other_accounts=true&web page=true",
"halfOf": "https://me.dm/customers/thebojda/statuses/109955178005562038/replies",
"gadgets": []
}
}
}
}
]
}

Based on these examples, it’s simple to implement a minimal consumer that may learn the general public posts of others or publish public posts to the skin world. I cannot go into the precise construction of the person JSON information and the functioning of the inbox right here. Those could be discovered within the ActivityPub documentation.

One good answer for decentralizing descriptive knowledge and feeds is to make use of Swarm Feeds or IPNS (I’ve a full article about these protocols). In the case of Ethereum Swarm, the feed identifier is a Swarm handle, whereas within the case of IPNS, it’s a public key.

Using these, an ActivityPub consumer would seem like this: {swarm handle}@swarm or {IPNS handle}@IPNS. The consumer description may very well be queried from right here.

For backward compatibility, gateway servers may be used, comparable to {swarm handle}@gateway.ethswarm.org, which might return the consumer’s description saved on Swarm by way of the Webfinger protocol, permitting current techniques (like Mastodon) to learn this knowledge with none modifications.

Implementing the outbox would even be executed by way of Swarm or IPNS feeds. To preserve backward compatibility, a decentralized_outbox discipline would have to be launched, the place a Swarm feed (bzz://…) or IPNS (ipns://…) handle can be positioned.

To preserve backward compatibility, a further gateway handle may very well be included within the authentic outbox discipline so current shoppers can learn these feeds with none adjustments.

Implementation of an inbox could be executed in a number of methods. The Ethereum Swarm has a messaging system known as PSS, however there are different options as nicely, comparable to Waku. Here, the PSS or Waku handle can be positioned in a decentralized_inbox discipline, whereas the unique inbox discipline would comprise a gateway handle.

With these few small extensions, ActivityPub could be made fully decentralized and “web3 suitable” with out the necessity for introducing new protocols like Nostr.

According to Nostr’s GitHub repository, the necessity for the brand new protocol and relay system is as a result of potential censorship of customers by ActivityPub servers and the shortage of an incentive system. However, this drawback is totally solved by the above extension.

Both IPNS and Swarm are censorship resistant, with Swarm additionally offering full anonymity. Additionally, Swarm has its personal incentive system, whereas FileCoin is out there for IPNS.

The future clearly belongs to ActivityPub, and builders ought to concentrate on advancing and evolving ActivityPub as an alternative of making new protocols to lastly set up a complete and actually unified Fediverse.